7 places
Limestone caverns and an underground boat ride
Photo: Ruhrfisch, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Much of central and eastern Pennsylvania rests on limestone, and over vast stretches of time water has dissolved it into caverns full of stalactites, flowstone and underground streams. A handful are open for guided tours, and because they stay cool all year they make a good escape on a hot summer afternoon or a rainy day.
At Penn's Cave near State College the whole tour is by boat. Crystal Cave near Kutztown has been showing visitors around since 1872, and Laurel Caverns sits high on Chestnut Ridge in the Laurel Highlands. Bring a light jacket, and expect steps and damp floors.
Our picks
Show cave · Gregg Township, Centre County
Flat-bottomed boats glide through this flooded limestone cavern, with the whole tour taken by water, and a separate tour explores a wildlife park on the farmland above.
Photo: Ruhrfisch, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Show cave · Hellertown, Northampton County
Guided tours follow an underground stream through crystal-lined chambers, one of them used for weddings, and the Gilman family's museum of minerals, gems and fossils waits above ground.
Show cave (state park) · Georges Township, Fayette County
Pennsylvania's largest cave, deep inside Chestnut Ridge, offers guided walking tours, rugged crawling-and-climbing caving trips and a mountaintop view across the Laurel Highlands.
Photo: David Fulmer from Pittsburgh, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Show cave · Richmond Township, Berks County
Quarrymen broke into this cave in 1871, and visitors have toured it since the following year, making it one of the oldest show caves in the country; guided walks wind past glittering calcite formations.
Photo: Jtknowles, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Show cave · Derry Township, Dauphin County
Guided walks lead through limestone chambers and past an underground lake in a cave beside Swatara Creek, where the hermit William Wilson lived alone for nearly 20 years in the early 1800s.
Show cave · Porter Township, Huntingdon County
One guided tour takes in two separate caves, Lincoln Caverns and Whisper Rocks, with crystal formations underground and gem panning and nature trails above.
The full list
Pennsylvania's largest cave, deep inside Chestnut Ridge, offers guided walking tours, rugged crawling-and-climbing caving trips and a mountaintop view across the Laurel Highlands.
Flat-bottomed boats glide through this flooded limestone cavern, with the whole tour taken by water, and a separate tour explores a wildlife park on the farmland above.
Guided tours lead through a series of big chambers to the Tower of Babel, a massive stalagmite, and a campground on the grounds invites a longer stay.
Quarrymen broke into this cave in 1871, and visitors have toured it since the following year, making it one of the oldest show caves in the country; guided walks wind past glittering calcite formations.
Guided walks lead through limestone chambers and past an underground lake in a cave beside Swatara Creek, where the hermit William Wilson lived alone for nearly 20 years in the early 1800s.
One guided tour takes in two separate caves, Lincoln Caverns and Whisper Rocks, with crystal formations underground and gem panning and nature trails above.
Guided tours follow an underground stream through crystal-lined chambers, one of them used for weddings, and the Gilman family's museum of minerals, gems and fossils waits above ground.
